Portable phone with ergonomic image projection system

• US 20060172767A1
• Filed: 02/02/2005
• Published: 08/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lagoon Point Enterprises, Inc.
• Original Assignee: National Telephone Products, Inc.
• Inventors: Howell, Steven, Cathey, James, Cathey, David A. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,539,513 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/556.100
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/00 Projectors or projection-type viewers; Accessories therefor devices for changing pictures G03B23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/005 Projectors using an electronic spatial light modulator but not peculiar thereto
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 29/00 Combinations of cameras, projectors or photographic printing apparatus with non-photographic non-optical apparatus, e.g. clocks or weapons; Cameras having the shape of other objects combinations with flash apparatus G03B15/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/02 Constructional features of telephone sets
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0272 for a projector or beamer module assembly constructional features of projectors per se G03B21/00; constructional details of projectors using electronic spatial light modulators per se H04N9/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0279 Improving the user comfort or ergonomics
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/03 Constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. telephone hand-sets
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/74 Projection arrangements for image reproduction, e.g. using eidophor

Abstract

A portable phone includes a handset and a data projection system configured to form a visual image of data, such as caller waiting ID data, on a viewing surface viewable by a user during a two way conversation. The handset also includes a speaker, a microphone, conventional phone circuitry and a keyboard. The data projection system is configured to receive signals from the phone circuitry, to generate a pattern representative of the data, to process the pattern into a mirror image of the visual image, and to project the mirror image from a bottom end surface of the handset. The projection system includes an electro optic system for generating the pattern, and an optics system for projecting the mirror image onto the viewing surface. A method for projecting data in a portable phone includes the steps of: providing the handset with the data projection system, conducting a two way conversation with the handset held against the head of the user, and forming the visual image on the viewing surface during the two way conversation with the handset held against the head. The method can also include the steps of manipulating the handset and a body part to locate and focus the visual image, sensing an orientation of the handset during the two way conversation, and orienting the visual image as a function of the sensing step.

Claims

1. A portable phone comprising:

a handset configured for holding proximate to a head of a user for conducting a two way conversation; and

a projection system on the handset configured to form a visual image of data on a viewing surface viewable by the user with the handset held proximate to the head and without interrupting the conversation.

2. The phone of claim 1 wherein the projection system includes a set of optics fixedly attached to the handset and configured for movement with the handset to locate the visual image on the viewing surface.

3. The phone of claim 1 wherein the projection system includes a liquid crystal display in light communication with a light source.

4. The phone of claim 1 wherein the projection system comprises a light valve configured to generate a pattern representative of the visual image, and at least one set of optics configured to process the pattern into a mirror image of the visual image and to project the mirror image onto the viewing surface.

5. The phone of claim 1 further comprising a sensor on the handset configured to sense an orientation of the handset and to orient the visual image as a function of the orientation.

6. The phone of claim 1 wherein the viewing surface comprises a body part, clothing or furniture.

7. The phone of claim 1 wherein the handset includes a speaker, a microphone, and a keypad surface, and the projection system is configured to project the visual image substantially in a direction extending from the speaker towards the microphone and generally othogonally to the keypad surface.

8. The phone of claim 1 further comprising a pulsing circuit configured to pulse a brightness of the visual image.

9. The phone of claim 1 wherein the viewing surface is about 8 to 16 inches from the handset, and wherein the projection system is configured to form the image with a width of about 25 mm to 152 mm, and a height of about 7.6 mm to 46.2 mm.

10. A portable phone comprising:

a handset configured for holding proximate to a head of a user; and

a projection system on the handset configured to form a visual image representative of selected data on a viewing surface viewable by the user with the handset held proximate to the head;

the projection system comprising a light source, a light valve in light communication with the light source configured to generate a pattern representative of the data, and a set of optics configured to process the pattern into a mirror image of a visual image and to project the mirror image onto the viewing surface.

11. The phone of claim 10 wherein the light valve comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) having an active area of at least 840 pixels.

12. The phone of claim 10 wherein the light valve comprises a chip on glass (COG) liquid crystal display (LCD) having a plurality of character blocks.

13. The phone of claim 10 wherein the light source is configured to generate at least 10 Lumens of light.

14. The phone of claim 10 wherein the light source comprises an LED chip and at least one heat sink in direct thermal communication with the LED chip.

15. The phone of claim 10 wherein a brightness of the light source is adjustable.

16. The phone of claim 10 further comprising a sensor on the handset configured to sense a right hand orientation or a left hand orientation of the handset on the head, and to orient the visual image so that it reads from left to right with either the right hand orientation or the left hand orientation.

17. The phone of claim 10 wherein the light valve includes an active area and the projection system includes another set of optics configured to manipulate a size or a shape of a beam of light rays from the light source onto the active area.

18. The phone of claim 10 wherein the set of optics comprises an optical element having a substantially or elliptical perimeter.

19. A portable phone comprising:

a handset configured for holding by a user;

a direct view visual display on the handset configured to display a first image of data;

a circuit on the handset configured to generate signals for displaying the first image on the direct view visual display; and

a projection system on the handset comprising a light valve and at least one set of optics fixedly attached to the handset and configured to form a second image of the data on a viewing surface viewable by the user responsive to the signals.

20. The phone of claim 19 wherein the light valve comprises a liquid crystal display having an active area in light communication with a light source configured to emit light rays, and a first set of optics configured to collimate the light rays and to direct the light rays onto the active area.

21. The phone of claim 19 wherein the light source comprises a light emitting diode (LED) configured to emit at least 10 Lumens of light.

22. The phone of claim 19 wherein the active area includes a plurality of rectangular blocks of pixels with each block comprising seven rows of pixels and each row comprising five pixels.

23. The phone of claim 19 wherein the liquid crystal display includes a plurality of character blocks configured to form either numbers or letters.

24. The phone of claim 19 wherein the first image and the second image have substantially a same size.

25. The phone of claim 19 wherein the projection system is configured to project a mirror image of the second image along a vector controlled by manipulation of the handset by the user.

26. The phone of claim 19 wherein the projection system comprises an addressable patterned LED display, an electroluminescent cathode ray tube, or a field emission display.

27. The phone of claim 19 wherein the second set of optics includes a lens having an electrically tunable focus length.

28. The phone of claim 19 wherein the projection system is configured to project a mirror image of the second image generally orthogonally to a surface of the handset containing the direct view display and along a vector having a direction extending from a speaker towards a microphone of the handset.

29. The phone of claim 19 wherein the projection system includes a control circuit comprising a micro processor.

30. The phone of claim 19 wherein the second image has a width greater than it'"'"'s height.

31. The phone of claim 19 wherein the second image has a length to height ratio of greater than 1:

1.

32. The phone of claim 19 wherein the second image has a width to height ratio of greater than 1.5:

1.

33. The phone of claim 19 wherein the viewing surface is located on a body part of the user or on a piece of furniture in close proximity to the user.

34. The phone of claim 19 wherein the data comprises caller waiting ID data.

35. A portable phone comprising:

a handset having a front surface, a speaker and a microphone;

a circuit on the handset configured to generate signals representative of data; and

a projection system fixedly attached to the handset configured to form an image of the data responsive to the signals, and to project the image generally orthogonally to the front surface and along a vector extending from the handset in a direction from the speaker towards the microphone onto a viewing surface.

36. The phone of claim 35 further comprising an orientation sensor on the handset configured to sense an orientation of the handset and to orient the image as a function thereof.

37. The phone of claim 35 wherein the projection system comprises a light source, a light valve, and at least one set of optics.

38. The phone of claim 35 wherein the projection system includes an element selected from the group consisting of addressable patterned LED displays, electroluminescent displays, cathode ray tubes, and field emission displays.

39. The phone of claim 35 wherein the image has a width to height ratio of greater than 1.5:

1.

40. The phone of claim 35 wherein the handset comprises a cordless phone or a cellular phone.

41. The phone of claim 35 wherein the handset includes an opening on a bottom end surface thereof and the projection system is recessed relative to the opening.

42. The phone of claim 35 wherein the circuit comprises a microcontroller.

43. The phone of claim 35 wherein the projection system includes a light source and the circuit includes a pulsing circuit configured to pulse a current to the light source.

44. The phone of claim 35 wherein the projection system includes a light source and the circuit is configured to adjust a brightness of the light source.

45. The phone of claim 35 wherein the data comprises caller waiting ID data.

46. The phone of claim 35 wherein the image comprises alphanumeric characters.

47. The phone of claim 35 wherein the image comprises pictures, characters, drawings, symbols, photographs, or video information.

48. The phone of claim 35 wherein the image comprises a variable image.

49. The phone of claim 35 wherein the image comprises a fixed image.

50. A portable phone comprising:

a handset having a speaker and a microphone;

a projection system affixed to a portion of the handset in a rigid orientation to the portion configured to project an image along a vector having substantially a direction from the speaker to the microphone.

51. The phone of claim 50 wherein the projection system is configured to project alphanumeric data which is oriented substantially orthogonally to a front surface of the handset.

52. The phone of claim 50 wherein the projection system is configured to enable a user to view left to right alphanumeric data, with the handset in a left handed mode and with the handset in a right handed mode.

53. The phone of claim 50 wherein the projection system comprises a light source comprising an LED chip coated with a soft gel.

54. The phone of claim 50 wherein the projection system comprises a light source and a refractive optical element separate from the light source configured to reduce an angular emission of light from the light source.

55. The phone of claim 50 wherein the projection system is configured to project the image with a width of between 38 mm and 100 mm at a distance between 200 mm and 400 mm.

56. A portable phone comprising:

a handset configured for holding proximate to a head of a user;

a control circuit on the handset comprising a micro controller configured to process signals representative of data;

a liquid crystal display on the handset in signal communication with the control circuit having a plurality of character blocks configured to form a pattern responsive to the signals; and

a set of optics on the handset in light communication with the liquid crystal display configured to process the pattern into a mirror image and to project the mirror image onto a viewing surface along a vector controlled by movement of the handset about the head.

57. The phone of claim 56 wherein the projection system includes a light source configured to generate at least 10 Lumens of light, and at least one optics element configured to collimate and direct the light onto the character blocks.

58. The phone of claim 56 wherein each character block is configured to form both letters and numbers.

59. The phone of claim 56 wherein the character blocks form an active area on the liquid crystal display of at least 840 pixels.

60. The phone of claim 56 wherein the liquid crystal display comprises a substrate configured as a heat sink, a LED on the substrate chip covered by a soft gel, and a lens in physical contact with the gel.

61. The phone of claim 56 wherein the liquid crystal display comprises a chip on glass display.

62. The phone of claim 56 further comprising a light source in light communication with the liquid crystal display, and wherein the control circuit includes a pulsing circuit configured to pulse the light source.

63. The phone of claim 56 wherein the viewing surface is about 8 to 16 inches from the handset and comprises a body part of the user.

64. A method for displaying data in a portable phone comprising:

providing a handset configured for holding proximate to a head of a user for conducting a two way conversation;

providing a projection system on the handset configured to form a visual image of the data on a viewing surface viewable by the user with the handset held proximate to the head and without interrupting the conversation; and

forming the visual image on the viewing surface during the two way conversation using the projection system.

65. The method of claim 64 wherein the projection system comprises a light valve configured to generate a pattern representative of the visual image, and at least one set of optics configured to process the pattern into a mirror image of the visual image and to project the mirror image onto the viewing surface.

66. The method of claim 64 wherein the handset includes a front surface, a microphone and a speaker, and the visual image is projected during the forming step generally orthogonally to the front surface and in a direction extending from the speaker towards the microphone.

67. The method of claim 64 wherein the handset includes an opening and the forming step projects the visual image through the opening.

68. The method of claim 64 further comprising:

providing a sensor on the handset configured to sense an orientation of the handset and to orient the visual image as a function of the orientation; and

orienting the visual image during the projecting step using the sensor.

69. The method of claim 64 wherein the viewing surface comprises a body part, clothing or furniture.

70. A method for displaying data in a portable phone comprising:

providing the phone with a data projection system configured to form an image representative of the data;

holding the phone proximate to a head of a user;

conducting a two way conversation during the holding step; and

projecting the image along a vector controlled by movement of the phone about the head onto a viewing surface viewable by the user while performing the holding and conducting steps.

71. The method of claim 70 further comprising:

sensing a first orientation of the phone on the head during the holding step; and

projecting the image from the phone with a second orientation dependent on the sensing step.

72. The method of claim 70 wherein the viewing surface comprises a body part of the user, and further comprising moving the body part during the projecting step to focus and locate the image on the body part.

73. The method of claim 70 wherein the viewing surface is about 8 to 16 inches from the phone, and the image has a width of about 25 mm to 152 mm, and a height of about 7.6 mm to 46.2 mm.

74. The method of claim 70 wherein the image is oriented along curved lines.

75. The method of claim 70 further comprising pulsing a brightness of the image during the projecting step.

76. The method of claim 70 wherein the phone includes a speaker and a microphone and the vector has a direction extending from the speaker towards the microphone.

77. The method of claim 70 wherein the data projection system comprises a light source, a light valve and at least one optics system.

78. The method of claim 70 wherein the data projection system includes at least one optical element configured to project the image.

79. A method for displaying data in a portable phone comprising:

providing the phone with a handset having a surface, a speaker and a microphone;

providing a projection system on the handset configured to project an image of the data;

holding the handset proximate to a head of a user of the phone;

projecting the image from the handset generally orthogonally to the surface and along a vector extending from the speaker towards the microphone; and

moving the handset about the head during the projecting step to point the vector at a selected viewing surface viewable by the user during the holding step and to form a viewable image on the viewing surface.

80. The method of claim 79 further comprising sensing an orientation of the handset during the holding step and orienting the image responsive to the sensing step.

81. The method of claim 79 the moving step comprises rotating the handset about the head.

82. The method of claim 79 wherein the projection system includes a light source that is pulsed during the projecting step.

83. The method of claim 79 wherein the projection system includes a light source having an adjustable brightness.

84. The method of claim 79 wherein the data comprises caller waiting ID data.

85. The method of claim 79 wherein the image comprises alphanumeric characters.

86. The method of claim 79 wherein the image comprises pictures, characters, drawings, symbols, photographs, or video information.

87. The method of claim 79 wherein the image comprises a variable image or a fixed image.

88. A method for displaying data in a portable phone comprising:

providing a handset comprising a visual display, a circuit configured to generate signals for displaying a first image of the data on the visual display, a projection system in the handset configured to form a second image of the data responsive to the signals;

using the signals to operate the projection system to generate the second image; and

projecting the second image from the handset using the projection system onto a viewing surface viewable by a user during a conversation using the phone.

89. The method of claim 88 wherein the handset includes a bottom end surface with an opening and the second image is projected from the opening during the projecting step.

90. The method of claim 88 wherein the projection system includes a light source, and a light valve configured to use light from the light source to generate a pattern representative of the second image responsive to the signals.

91. The method of claim 88 wherein the projection system includes an emissive light valve configured to generate a pattern representative of the second image responsive to the signals.

92. The method of claim 88 wherein the projection system includes a reflective display.

93. The method of claim 88 wherein the projecting the second image step comprises projecting a mirror image from an end surface of the handset comprising alphanumeric characters which are substantially orthogonal to a keypad surface of the handset.

94. The method of claim 88 wherein the viewing surface is about 8 to 16 inches from the handset, and the second image has a width of about 25 mm to 152 mm, and a height of about 7.6 mm to 46.2 mm.

95. The method of claim 88 wherein the data comprises caller waiting ID data.

96. The method of claim 88 wherein the second image comprises alphanumeric characters.

97. The method of claim 88 wherein the second image comprises pictures, characters, drawings, symbols, photographs, or video information.

98. The method of claim 88 wherein the second image comprises a fixed image.

99. A method for displaying data in a portable phone comprising:

providing the phone with a handset having an image projection system;

holding the handset against a head of a user;

conducting a two way conversation using the handset with the handset held against the head;

transmitting data to the image projection system during the two way conversation; and

during the conducting step, projecting a visual image representative of the data from the handset using the image projection system onto a viewing surface viewable by the user with the handset held against the head.

100. The method of claim 99 further comprising providing the handset with a sensing system, sensing an orientation of the handset using the sensing system, and then projecting the visual image onto the viewing surface with an orientation dependent on the sensed orientation of the handset.

101. The method of claim 99 further comprising delaying the projection step for a set time period following the transmitting step.

102. The method of claim 99 wherein the viewing surface comprises a body part of the user.

103. The method of claim 99 wherein the viewing surface comprises furniture.

104. The method of claim 99 wherein the viewing surface comprises clothing.

105. The method of claim 99 wherein the handset includes a front surface and a back surface and the projecting step projects the visual image as a row of alpha numeric characters reading in a direction extending from the front surface towards the back surface.

106. The method of claim 99 wherein the handset includes a speaker and a microphone and the projecting step projects the visual image in a direction extending from the speaker towards the microphone.